President's Message
Kirby Philp
I hope all of our members have enjoyed a wonderful summer. It has been a busy season for the club, with our activities running at full speed and seeing excellent participation across the board including many new members. Our Summer Picnic was once again a great success, and I would like to extend my thanks to all of the volunteers who made it happen. As we begin to wind down summer and transition into the fall season, we have lots to look forward to:
We return to our General Meetings this month, and I hope to see all of you on September 22. It will be a great opportunity to reconnect with members we may not have seen over the summer.
October 5, 2026 – The Town of the Blue Mountains will once again proclaim October as Probus Month. A flag-raising ceremony with the Mayor and Town Council will take place at 9:00 AM, and I hope many of you can attend.
October 22, 2026 – We will celebrate our 25th Anniversary Grand Finale at historic Meaford Hall. The organizing committee has been working diligently on this event for the past six months, and it promises to be an outstanding celebration, featuring delicious appetizers and fantastic entertainment by Duelling Pianos Niagara. We hope you will join us for this special milestone celebration. Check your in box for the invitation sent on September 2 - and register EARLY. Space is limited, and the deadline for registering is September 30, 2026.
Membership Meeting - Tuesday, September 22
Denise Rand / Melany Franklin
We look forward to seeing you at our next monthly meeting at the Beaver Valley Community Centre.
Date: September 22, 2026
Doors open: 1:00 PM
Meeting begins: 1:30 PM
Speaker: Angela Yenssen
Topic: Cyber Security for Seniors
Angela Yenssen is a lawyer at Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic. She runs the elder law project in seven counties in rural southwestern Ontario funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario. She gives presentations about legal issues that arise as people age. She also does legal work, such as writing wills.
During this meeting, Angela Yenssen will present the major strategies used by fraudsters to scam people out of money and real estate and will offer a toolkit to help you protect yourselves from fraud.
Jigsaw Puzzle Exchange Table
Elaine Bouwman / Rita Melzer
Enjoy doing puzzles? We have started up a jigsaw puzzle exchange table at our monthly member speaker meetings. Bring 1 or 2 jigsaw puzzles and exchange them at the back of the room. Puzzles must be 100% complete with no missing pieces.
Membership
Brian Cromie/Pam Weaver
This summer, instead of a membership drive to bring on new Probus members, the Management Committee has asked us to examine the implications of our existing membership numbers on Activity and Event sign-ups. There is concern that members may become disappointed when activities fill-up quickly, preventing them from attending outings they are interested in. The next opportunity to welcome new members from the waitlist will therefore be in January, based on available space.
25th Anniversary Grand Finale
Jane Andrew / Pam Weaver
Invitations were sent out on September 2 for this very special event!
Date: Thursday, October 22, 2026
Venue: Meaford Hall Arts and Cultural Centre
Time: Doors open at 12 noon
Price: Only $25 / member (after club subsidy)
RSVP Deadline: September 30, 2026
Social Events
Don Collins-Williams
Your Social Committee is planning more events for this fall, and will soon be starting to work on some winter events.
Save the Date: Sunday, November 8
We will be having an evening Murder Mystery, preceded by a Potluck dinner at St. George's Anglican Church in Clarksburg.
Our Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held again at the beautiful Bear Estate in Collingwood on Tuesday, December 1. We hope to see you all there. As usual, please let us know of any ideas you might have for future Social Events
Georgian Probus Travel Club
Gloria Thompson
Your Travel Group Coordinators are hard at work! Stay tuned for more exciting trips and keep us in mind when you are planning your next travel excursion... Remember all members, friends and family are welcome to join our trips.
Making future travel plans? Check the GPTG website first!
Upcoming Trips:
Activity Groups Update
Ilene Rushefsky Charland
It is hard to believe that September is now here, and with it, an end to some of our activity groups and the start to others. It has been a great season for some of our outdoor activities: golf, walking, hiking, cycling, canoeing and kayaking, to name a few. We are so very lucky to live in this wonderful playground with so many opportunities to get outside and enjoy ourselves. A huge thank you to all of the activity leaders who give of their time to find new routes and explore areas we might not otherwise get to. They make all of this happen. Enjoy our playground, both outdoors and indoors!
Here is a step-by-step video on "how to sign up" for Activity Groups. Click on the red arrow to view!
Birding
Lucie Desjardins & Kirby Philp
The Birding group is taking a break this month as the bird activity drops significantly and woods become mainly silent in August. It is also a time when birds are molting (shedding and regrowing worn feathers), making them secretive. We will resume our outings in the fall.
Casual Dining with Friends
Sallie Kedwell
Happy fall to all - it’s been a great summer and we enjoyed seeing many of you at our July/August picnics. Looking ahead our regular monthly dinners will start up again on the 4th Thursday of every month, starting with September 24. Please note that our Holiday cocktail party is now booked for December 10 at 4pm. Thanks to Kate S. for again offering to host. Our numbers are down somewhat so just a heads up that hosting may be necessary on a somewhat more regular basis. I am happy to report that 9 of our members stepped forward to host during the months April through August and that willingness to participate keeps things functioning well. Thanks to all and looking forward to meeting up again in the fall.
Canoeing & Kayaking
Kirby Philp & Lucie Desjardins
The Canoeing and Kayaking Activity has enjoyed several wonderful paddles this summer, with strong participation—including some enthusiastic new members. Our outings have taken us along the Beaver River, Nottawasaga River, Sauble River, Bells Lake, and in Collingwood Harbour. The outings have been great fun, especially when paired with our post‑paddle socials. We hope to fit in a couple more paddles before the season wraps up.
Dining Around Town (DAT)—Activity Leader Needed
Hank Bouwman
Looking to get more involved? We have the perfect volunteer opportunity for you! Hank has advised us that he will be stepping down as DAT leader at the end of November, following 7 years of leading this group. He is prepared to assist someone to ensure a smooth transition. The job can be shared by 1 or 2 people. Please contact Hank if you are interested.
Dining Around Town
Hank Bouwman
The Family Style dinner at the Marilynne Restaurant in Markdale scheduled for Monday, September 14 has been cancelled as we didn't meet the minimum number of registrants. It’s not too late to join us for future dining outings—just go to the Dining Around Town Activity Group webpage and sign-up in order to receive the invitations!
Future Dining Dates:
- Monday, September 14 @ 5 PM - Marilynne Restaurant, CANCELLED
- Monday, November 2 @ 12 Noon - The Mill Cafe
- Wednesday, November 4 @ 12 Noon - The Mill Cafe
- Monday, November 9 @ 12 Noon - The Mill Cafe
Bid Euchre
Mary Jansen
We held some refresher days in August and September in preparation for our October 5 start-up. We are excited to introduce this game to many new players who have never played before, as well as a number of experienced players. This game is similar to Euchre, where you win tricks. You only play with A, K, Q, and J's and all the cards are dealt out. You bid on the number of tricks you and your partner expect to take. If you win the bid but did not get the number of tricks bid, your score goes down by that number. There are 3 ways of playing an "alone" hand. You could win 24, 18 or 12 points depending on the type of bid. No, you do not play for money! We will play bi weekly (Mondays) from October to April at 1:30 in Meaford. During snowy days when it is unsafe to drive, we will postpone the event to the following Monday.
If you are interested but still unsure, you are welcome to join us to watch and perhaps try a game. It is fun! If interested or have any questions, please contact Mary.
Euchre 1
Elaine & Hank Bouwman
Euchre 1 Pizza, Wings, Cake, Pop Party & monthly tournament will be on Tuesday, September 8 at 12:00 PM in the downstairs great hall at St. George’s Anglican Church, 166 Russell St. E., Clarksburg. Ample parking, elevator available and spacious room. Invitations are sent out on the 1st. of every month. You must register on-line for the Euchre 1 Activity and pay $20.00 / person to help pay for the hall rental and euchre tables if you have not already done so. The fee covers the April 1/26 to March 31/27 period.
High Scores: June: Ryburn G. July: Viv A.
August: Mary Jane B & Mae F.
G.L.E.A.M.
Mary Ann Collins-Williams / Beth White
We have had a wonderful endorsement of our new Activity - Glamorous Ladies Eating At Midday. Our lunches in the past few months have been at The Blue Mountain Golf & Country Club, The Port Tavern, Fire Station 87, Lakeside Seafood and Grill, and the Curly Willow. On average there have been 30 ladies attending who have enjoyed delicious food and the companionship of other members in our Club. For the next 3 months, luncheons have been organized at Polpette Pizza & Pasta, Walters Falls Inn and Brunello at 27 on Fourth. These luncheons are fun and the conversations enlightening. It's not too late to join us—just navigate to the
G.L.E.A.M Activity Page and click the Activity Group Sign-up button to receive the invitations.
Hiking Down a Notch
Glen Downey / Ilene Rushefsky Charland
It appears that we have achieved our mandate of providing hikes that have been generally moderate in difficulty, interesting and challenging enough to provide a cardio benefit. Few hikes have had to be cancelled due to weather. The most recent hike took us on the Bruce Trail above Alpine and Craigleith Ski Clubs, with great views of the bay. Other hikes people might be familiar with that involved streams and waterfalls were Flower Pot in Ravenna; Jones Falls in west Owen Sound; and, the Clendenan Dam. We hope to finish out the season with several more hikes as fall colours begin to arrive.
Ramblers
Nancy Dixon
The summer is quickly slipping by us. Thanks to the Ramblers who attended and even though our numbers were light, we had a few great walks. The Batteaux trail had the most amazing birch trees we have ever seen; the Glen Huron trail along the Mad River (even though we missed the waterfall) and my favourite the Georgian Trail to Swarthmore in Meaford. Hoping this latest event in Creemore will be entertaining with a visit to the Patisserie, the historic Creemore Jail and Lunch at Chez Michele. Anyone wanting to join our group can still register. Just go to the Ramblers Activity page and sign-up to receive the invitations.
Recreational Cycling
Mary Ann Collins-Williams / Ilene Rushefsky Charland
This summer we have had the best weather for our Monday morning cycling rides with no cancellations! We have enjoyed the companionship of our fellow riders while cycling on the trails or eating delicious snacks/lunches at various small cafes/restaurants. We cycled the Georgian Rail trail, the Collingwood-Barrie Rail Trail, the Tiny Rail trail, and the Tay Rail trail as well as the quiet streets/paths in Collingwood, Thornbury, Meaford, and The Blue Mountains. Our cycling days have been outstanding this year. We are planning to continue to organize our Monday morning rides into October, weather permitting.
R.O.M.E.O.
John White / Louis Charland
After a very successful spring and summer, we had a rest in August. Now that summer is almost over, we are resuming our Monthly lunches with a golf and lunch or lunch only on September 24 at the Blue Mountain Golf Course. Enrolment for this event is going well and there are spaces still available for both Golf + lunch or lunch only. Registration is now open to all male PROBUS members and their male guests. You can register through the website. If you would like to receive all the invitations to our 'Retired Outstanding Men Eating Out' group, please sign up on the R.O.M.E.O. Activity Page!
Ski Legends
Chris Mifflin
2027 Legends Ski Trips are now on sale!
- The Dolomites, Italy, February 18 - 28, 2027, Alpenhotel Plaza. This trip is a SOLD OUT! If you would like to join the waitlist in case of a cancellation, please complete the form. You will be contacted if space becomes available.
- Sun Peaks, BC, March 7 - 14, 2027, Sun Peaks Grand. Lots of interest already in our annual visit to Sun Peaks. Don't delay or you may miss out! Booking Deadline: September 15, 2026 or earlier when all space is sold out!
For the latest information, check the Legends website:
https://probusskilegends.ca/2027
New this year! Merit Travel is selling IKON passes at group prices for groups of 20 or more! Not only will you save on the cost, but with at least 22 passes sold, Merit will offer one free pass plus deduct $50 per person from Merit group trip Ikon destinations. Sun Peaks and our planned Europe trip are both Ikon destinations. Contact me for more details.
All participants must be PROBUS members and members of PROBUS Ski Legends:
https://probusskilegends.ca/membership/
Membership cost is $50 per year.
Word of Thanks
Hy and Pat Haberman
My wife and I moved to Thornbury last year and got accepted to Probus in 2026. We just want to say how much we've enjoyed and benefitted from our Probus membership. Though we have had to miss some of the individual activities we signed up for, our involvement in hiking, biking and mah jongg have been fun, stimulating and helped us learn about the area and meet friendly and nice people. So we just want to say "thank you" to all the Probus volunteers who schedule and lead all the great activities. You do a great job! And to the various members we've met, you're pretty good too! Sincerely and with much appreciation.
Humor Corner
Shared by Nancy Dixon
Like a ten speed bike, most of our gears are not used.
Photo Corner
Lucie Desjardins
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir
For other recent photos please check out our 2026 Slideshows!
The Master Gardener’s Corner
John Hethrington, Master Gardener Emeritus
Past President, Master Gardeners of Ontario
Click on the image to see what you need to be doing in your Garden in September.
In Memorium
Larry Gardhouse, passed on July 6, 2026. We send our sincere condolences to his wife Beverly and family.
Support Group
Lucie Desjardins / Mary Ann Collins-Williams
Do you know of a BVPC member who is having a difficult time (health issue, accident, hospitalization, loss of partner, etc.) and would benefit from receiving a card or a call from our team? If so, please let us know. We will be happy to follow up and/or get in touch with them.
The Last Word
Shared by Nancy Dixon
A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep.
Anonymous
Beaver Valley Probus Club